A smoker inside the the Bullitt County Judicial Center. The Bullitt County Fiscal Court is considering banning smoking in government buildings.

As lawmakers in Frankfort contemplate the wisdom of a statewide smoking ban - and that would be a very wise move for Kentucky - officials in Bullitt County appear eager to take their county backward when it comes to public health.

Wednesday, at 6 p.m., Bullitt Fiscal Court is poised to vote to ban smoking in county government buildings through an ordinance that is the classic legislative wolf in sheep's clothing.

Sounds good, but the ordinance is a cynical attempt to snuff out a controversial smoking ban in all public places adopted in 2011 by the Bullitt County Board of Health. That ban was never enacted because the same fiscal court which claims to care about smoking and health is aggressively pursuing a lawsuit to block it.

Now the case is before the state Supreme Court where a favorable ruling could uphold the power of the Bullitt health board to enact its broader ban that would include stores, bars, restaurants and offices as well as government buildings.

While the sheep part of the ordinance would ban smoking in county buildings, the wolf portion would repeal the Bullitt health board's broader ban on smoking in all public places.

So even if the Supreme Court upholds the health board's power to restrict smoking, the Bullitt County ordinance would strip the board of that power.

Already, two of the five fiscal court magistrates say they are not inclined to expand the ordinance beyond county buildings, Ms. Loosemore reported.

The best solution for Bullitt County would be for magistrates to drop this ill-advised ordinance. The health board's ban - if the county would stop fighting it in court - already covers county government offices as well as bars, restaurants, stores and workplaces.

Or fiscal court members could drop the section that repeals the health board ban. While they're at it, they could drop the costly lawsuit they are pursuing to challenge the health board ban, since they now claim to be concerned about public health.

But the ideal solution would be for Kentucky's legislature to adopt a statewide ban on smoking in public places, under bills proposed by Rep. Susan Westrom, a Lexington Democrat, and Sen. Julie Denton, a Louisville Republican, as The Courier-Journal's Mike Wynn reported Jan. 12.

Smoking bans bring dramatic health benefits to communities, detailed in a research summary by the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy at the University of Kentucky. They have demonstrated success in Louisville, Lexington and 36 other communities in Kentucky that have enacted them.

As many as one-third of smokers stop smoking. The rate of heart attacks declines. Fewer people visit emergency rooms for asthma attacks.

And business doesn't suffer, as opponents have suggested. In some cases, including restaurants, business has increased once a local smoking ban was enacted.

Kentucky currently has the nation's highest rate of smoking with about 28 percent of adults - about 1 million people - puffing away.

It also has the nation's highest rates of lung cancer and lung cancer deaths and ranks high in a host of other smoking-related conditions including heart and cardiovascular disease.

Gov. Steve Beshear has set as a goal this year of cutting the state's smoking rate by 10 percent.

Nationally, 24 states already have statewide bans and Ellen Hahn, director of the smoke-free center, said a statewide smoking ban in Kentucky could help the state easily surpass the governor's goal of a 10 percent reduction.